


The Heart Aches Evermore

by RichmanBachard



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Angst, Brother Feels, Brotherly Bonding, DMC5 Epilogue, Feels, Grief/Mourning, Humor, Pizza, The Boys Go Pizza Hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21811144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RichmanBachard/pseuds/RichmanBachard
Summary: The brothers return to the human world, and make a quick stop. Commission for ShinRevel.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 51





	The Heart Aches Evermore

**Author's Note:**

> Come for the pizza, stay for the feels.

Dante didn’t need it. He never did. His body would have sustained itself. But that notion mattered little in the eyes of the old devil hunter when it came to the delicacies of modern life. Self-sustaining or no, Dante had.. needs. Very particular needs. And what he needed was.. something particular, a food. A cuisine so alluring and oft desired, he could not bear the thought of remaining in Hell forever. Not without...

_Pizza._

A man of fortune must seek his fortune, and Dante was a man who sought what he desired most of all.

**REDGRAVE CITY, MONTHS AFTER THE FALL OF THE QLIPHOTH, 4:36 PM**

The smell of the joint had him positively enraptured, sending his mind back to the few times he had visited the place. Felt like years since then. Decades, he wagered. All the way back, across space, time, and portals abound by the good graces of Vergil’s reluctant Yamato, the brothers had made their fateful return. Day after day of fighting, laughing, sleeping and, of course, ribbing each other constantly. As ironic as ever, it was heaven for Dante - and likely Vergil too, from the looks of it, but Hell was not to be their final destination. Not truly. They would return.. eventually. Vergil had needs of his own: a life to live, a son to love - and defeat. A brother to tolerate, friends to make, sins to atone for, money to be made. Past all the waterworks, awkward reintroductions, and the questions that would surely follow, pizza had come first. Vergil allowed it, and so they pressed on.

Still, he couldn’t help but question his brothers sense of priority. _Like you’re one to talk,_ Dante would surely quip. The older twin paid it no mind, though. It meant more time with his brother. That alone was reason enough.

To be inside the pizzeria was.. a new experience. The brothers received a few looks, one here and there, but to their surprise they had mostly remained inconspicuous. They hardly had the time to wash as best they could, but per Vergil’s insistence, they did.

While it mostly involved Dante tackling him into a lake, it was.. something of a start at the least.

What presented them considerably more trouble was the lack of funds on hand. Dante and Vergil gave each other a look. Then, the former brother turned his gaze towards the clerk. “Hey, um..” His hands began to pilfer through his pockets, pulling out a handful of nothing but lint and grime, with a sole button amidst the offer. Dante made a face. “Heh- er.. well, that’s-“

“Sorry sir,” the clerk stated. “No cash, no service. I would if I could, but we-“

Dante sighed. “Listen - we just got outta Hell itself and I-“ 

Vergil placed a hand upon his shoulder, pausing the sibling. “Apologies for our.. apparent dishevelry.”

The clerk raised a brow. “Is that even a word?”

Vergil pursed his lips. “It is now.” He shook his hand dismissively. “We’re.. unkempt, I know. As I said, forgive us. My brother simply has..” Vergil briefly looked him over. “Certain cravings.”

“I saved the city,” cried Dante amid a hushed tone. He stammered over his next few words after Vergil lightly smacked his arm. “I- I meant- we saved the city! Doesn’t that warrant a free pizza? Huh?” He held a finger up. “Just one?”

The clerk screwed her face up with visible confusion. “You.. what?”

Dante motioned with his hands. “Y’know, the big tree..? And, and the- yeah- what, did everyone move on already? Gah, c’mon, not even a free slice?”

The clerk stared at him. “ _You?_ ” 

He flashed a toothy grin. Vergil cringed from secondhand embarrassment.

**SEVERAL MINUTES LATER**

Dante sighed, airing the most tired of groans which rattled his body. He leaned against the outer wall of the pizzeria, nestled in the alley nearby. The sun shone brightly upon the city that day, coloring them in a warm, pleasant haze as they spent their time loitering in the wake of apparent failure. “Well,” he said, deadpanning. “So much for a hero’s welcome.”

Vergil, similarly, kept his arms firmly crossed despite the mild smirk upon his lips. “Is that why you do it?” The brother narrowed his eyes. “In the hopes of free food?”

Dante looked at him, and gave a knowing smile.

Vergil rolled his eyes. “All this time, and you haven’t changed... much.”

“You have.”

“Hmph.”

Dante flashed him another, tired sort of grin. “Or maybe not.” Despite the tease he looked his brother over, still barely able to fully believe what he was seeing. Vergil. Returned, true to form. In the flesh. His brother was here with him, the dumbass, and the two... were not trying to kill each other, nor were they fighting for sport. Not then.

They were simply.. there. Together. Enjoying each other’s company or.. so it would seem. Dante normally would feign a look of his particular brand of, for lack of a proper term, ‘coolness’ but.. no, nothing. Instead he wore a more somber look. Vergil deserved his vulnerability. His mouth parted to speak, to break the awkwardness beginning to build between them, but was subsequently interrupted.

“There should be a way,” Vergil said, bringing a thumb and forefinger to his chiseled chin. “Perhaps..”

Dante quirked a brow. “Huh?”

Vergil pushed himself off of the wall adjacent to Dante, no longer leaning against it. Conversely, he wore a look of determination. “To acquire your fabled.. pizza.”

Dante waved yet another hand dismissively. “D’aahh, forget it. Just a slice of pie.” He matched Vergil’s motion, pushing his back off of the wall. “Not like I’m gonna beg for change on the street.”

“I have,” admitted Vergil, the response making Dante’s features soften somberly once more, with regret. The older brother lightly shrugged his shoulders. “There’s no shame in doing so, but that isn’t necessarily what I meant.”

“You’re right. But what? We aren’t stealin’.”

“We won’t, just-“ Vergil let slip an annoyed sigh and made a face, then motioned for him to follow. “Come with me.”

The red devil smiled at that somewhat. Dante had spent his entire life following Vergil, in some way or another, always to some degree. To now do so literally once again was..

Well, it made for a refreshing change of pace.

—

What had followed was something Dante hadn’t quite expected. To ask a stranger inside the pizzeria if they were able to assist, and it.. working. Vergil seemed so kind, and honest. Despite the fact he had thrown his little brother under the bus somewhat in the process. _Tired old hobo man,_ Vergil would cry, truly sweetening the pot for the lucky person fortunate enough to hear it.

He wasn’t wrong. He wanted Dante to shave. Naturally, the devil hunter disagreed.

No matter. By the good graces of a kind soul, pizza was acquired and soon the brothers whisked themselves away. Upon a grassy hilltop in clear view of the city, they sat comfortably in the field. The sun was setting then, displaying an immaculate sight as its final few rays doused the metropolis with its fading glow, mixing with the burgeoning color of the city itself. 

Dante took his time, savoring every slice of the extra, extra, EXTRA large that was ordered. Generous indeed. Vergil merely smiled, wearing his small smirk as they talked amongst themselves. Seeing Dante so content, it was a reward in itself.

“So.” Dante popped a single pepperoni into his mouth, then began to chew. “How’s it?” His head lazily sagged, motioning towards the final few slices amidst some spare pieces and crumbs.

Vergil appeared much less greasy in his consumption of such cuisine. Still, he hummed in agreement somewhat. “Quite good. If a bit.. much.”

“Bit much..? Heh.” Dante shook his head lightly, his eyes dancing along the tops of the city’s buildings, tracing their silhouettes. “Ever the prude, are we, brother?”

“Call it what you want, fool. Your palette must be far less complex than mine.”

“What does that even mean?”

Vergil sighed.

The red devil lightly punched his brother in the arm. “Ah, don’t get all pouty with me now.. you’re stuck with me.” He took a sip from his drink. “ _You_ wanted this.”

Vergil hummed, despite himself. “It would seem so.”

“Don’t worry. The others can wait a little longer.. I’m enjoying this too much.”

Vergil looked forward upon the city as his eyes narrowed with a faint, wry grin slowly spreading across his lips. “Me too.”

In lieu of silence came the sounds of further pizza consumption. Vergil had himself one more slice as Dante took two, saving the last remaining slice for the blue devil. And as the older twin savored the meal, his mind began to wander - as it was want to do. His body relaxed, allowing the realization to slowly dawn upon him. “I’ve not- I’ve not had this in..”

Dante leaned forward. His hands were draped over his brought-up knees, a spare slice hanging from his left hand, the realization dawning on him too. “It’s.. been a long time, hasn’t it?”

Vergil nodded solemnly.

The brothers ate in silence then, for a little while. Enjoying the warmth of the sun and the cooling kiss that was the nice, occasional gust of a breeze. In particular, Vergil had savored just.. every touch, every sensation. Not just the flavor of something as simple as a slice of pizza so scrumptious, but to feel - _really_ feel - the contentedness of a single, normal day was..

His eyes grew glossy with wetness, tears beginning to form. He leaned back, soaking it all in - the sights, sounds, and smells. “I should not be here,” he admitted suddenly, a look of regret upon his face. “I shouldn’t be, yet I am.”

Dante remained uncharacteristically quiet. “You are.”

Before he could speak further, Vergil insisted, a wealth of words spilling from his lips. “I.. I desired.. so much. I needed, I- there was simply-“ Unlike himself, though, Vergil found great difficulty in trying to articulate his train of thought. The emotion welling within him, his mind wandering, recalling the events of what once was.

His life as a child - as the so-called man of the house. The struggle of childhood, the burden of being the oldest. The bitterness he felt at their fathers absence, yet paradoxically the pride he felt in attempting to follow in his footsteps. The love for his mother, and the guilt of being unable to protect her. A fool’s errand for a child but it mattered not. The perceived abandonment. His life as a beggar, Aw a crook. Finding people who cared for him and took him in, only for that life to be dashed by one tragedy or another. More and more, on and on. People he led, people he let down. His preference for isolation in response. His studies, his motivation. His visit to Fortuna and the tryst that followed. The people he continued to lose or seemingly have betray him. The people he hurt. The countless lives lost. So many. Too many. 

All of it leading here, back to the start.

So much had swelled inside of him in that moment, a thousand feelings all at once. For someone less inclined, less worn by the likes of such trauma, they would have buckled underneath such weight - but he bore the brunt of it, allowed it all to wash over him. Vergil, he-

Dante placed a hand upon his shoulder. “Hey,” he said. “You okay?”

Feigning his usual demeanor, Vergil seemed cold in that moment. Skeptical. For old time’s sake. “Unlike you to ask.”

Then and there, another realization hit Dante like he had collided into a brick wall that never ended, that was harsh and unbreakable. The sorrow spread across him. After everything that had happened, he got what he wanted in the end. But to have it now, to see Vergil. Finally see him in all his pride, regret, and ambition - it nearly drew Dante to tears. He needed to answer, to muster a response good enough. Not something he was skilled with, often, but for his brother.. he had to try. 

Dante’s expression remained sorrowful, and he spoke in earnest. “Well.. I’m asking now.”

Vergil allowed the tears to spill softly from him, a lone strand falling down his cheek. “No, I.. no, I’m not.”

Dante’s brows furrowed.

With a shaken but resolute tone, Vergil spoke after some time. “But.. I will be.” 

Dante surprised him then, leaning over to sharply pull his brother into a hug. Vergil seemed cold, stiff at the action initially but soon softened as his walls fell. No more coldness, no sense of strength—only pain, and vulnerability. Dante deserved him at his weakest, his most vulnerable self. And so Vergil leaned into the hug, tightening it, half-cocked and greasy as it may have been. 

Dante smiled faintly, the smallest smirk he could possibly wear. His head lay against his brothers shoulder as his own eyes glossed over with tears. “You will,” he repeated. “You will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Follow [@RichmanBachard](https://twitter.com/RichmanBachard) and [@RichmanSFW](https://twitter.com/RichmanSFW) to keep up with my stories, my commission info, and my insanity.


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